What Happens in Paris
by NCISgirl1527
Summary: What happens in Paris...Stays in Paris? Maybe it doesn't have to. A post episode fic for Jet Lag focusing on what happened between Tony and Ziva in the hotel room that night. Nice and Fluffy. Just the way I like it. Enjoy. TIVA!
1. Lights in the Night

**_Alright seriously that was an amazing episode. I was squealing for like the entire thing it was great. Either way here is the beginning of a little post episode fic._**

_**Spoilers: Jet Lag**_

_**Disclaimer: Yea no not mine**_

It had been a very long flight. International flights almost always were but this one had seemed especially long. Either way by the time Tony and Ziva had finally landed in Roissy-Charles De Gaulle International Airport they were thrilled to be off the plane. It was only a one day trip so they didn't have any checked luggage allowing them to head straight for the parking lot.

"Ah the benefits of being a Federal Agent," Tony sighed as he got into the car that had been provided for them.

Ziva just glared at him. Spending long periods of time on an airplane with Tony was not how she had envisioned spending this particular week. Of course she wouldn't mind spending time alone with Tony if he did not constantly crack jokes and relate things to movies.

The ride to the hotel was completely silent. Ziva was lost in her thoughts and Tony was smart enough not to interrupt them so he concentrated on driving through the moonlit streets of Paris.

They reached to hotel without a problem and Ziva went inside to check their room reservations while Tony parked the car. By the time Tony walked into the hotel Ziva was having a heated argument with the man at the check in desk. Tony did not have a clue what she was saying because it was in French but he knew that it was not good. With one final glare she took the room key and turned towards him.

"There has been a change in the arrangements," Ziva said heatedly walking towards the elevator so fast that Tony had to sprint to keep up.

"What do you mean change in the arrangements?" Tony asked her as they entered the elevator.

"Apparently there was only one room available on such short notice," Ziva said pacing back and forth in the elevator and starting to calm down a little. "It has one king bed."

Tony paused for a moment as the elevator doors opened. He did not know how to respond to Ziva's obvious annoyance at their predicament. "I could sleep on the couch," he suggested finally as they walked down the hall.

"No," Ziva protested, "you will hurt your back then you will complain all the way back to DC. I will sleep on the couch."

"Aw come on Ziva. I can't tell a woman she has to sleep on the couch," Tony protested.

"It is irrelevant," Ziva sighed as she opened the door and walked into the room, "as you can see-"

"There is no couch," Tony finished for her.

"Very well then…" Ziva said as she started to pull pillows off one side of the bed and thrown them on the floor. It was not that she did not like Tony, because she did…a lot. It was that she did not…could not…would not risk letting herself get that close to him.

"No way Ziva," Tony told her grabbing her wrist, "there is no way you are sleeping on the floor." He was a little worried about how he might react if he got that close to Ziva, but he was not going to let his partner sleep on the floor. "We are adults. We can share a bed."

Ziva looked him in the eye completely prepared to tell him no but found that the moment her eyes met his, her resolve melted. He was the only person who had ever had that effect on her. "Alright," she agreed, "but only because I am too tired to argue with you."

"Good," Tony helped her pick the pillows up off the floor and put them back on the bed. Then they both changed into their pajamas. Ziva was very glad that she had brought…appropriate sleepwear. Ziva was already in bed when Tony finished changing. He threw her a sidelong glance before sliding under the covers on the opposite side of the bed. He looked across the room and out the bay window at the dazzling city of Paris once more before sleep claimed him.

A couple hours later he was jarred awake from a very pleasant dream, which had involved him and Ziva and minimal amounts of clothing, by the chiming of a clock. He shook his head quickly. He could not think of Ziva like that. Those were forbidden waters. Speaking of Ziva…Tony realized that she was not asleep next to him. In fact, she was not asleep at all. He saw her figure out like in the light from out side the bay window.

Quietly he pulled back the covers and got out of bed. He walked over to the window and put a tentative hand on Ziva's shoulder. She did not turn to look at him but she did not pull away either. She would never admit it but she liked the warmth of Tony's hand on her shoulder. It was comforting.

"What's up Ziva?" He asked her quietly. He did not expect her to answer and was not surprised by the silence. What did surprise him was when she started to speak.

"We are in Paris, Tony." Ziva told him this even though she knew he was as acutely aware of the fact as she was. "I have not been in Paris for five years." Tony knew Ziva enough to know that there was some reason that she had not been to Paris in five year and a reason that she knew that it had been that many years; he was just afraid to ask. "It was the last case Jenny and I work as partners," Ziva explained, "That was when she told me about her and Gibbs history and she left him because she had to further her career, and how she had to leave me."

"Ziva," Tony started. He did not know where he was going, but it did not matter because Ziva continued to talk.

"It hurt when she left," Ziva admitted, "I though of her not only like a friend but as a mother almost. I had never known my real mother. I thought she had just left but then she got me a job at NCIS and saved me. If she had not given me that position at NCIS I would almost certainly be dead by now."

Tony shivered. "Don't say that Ziva," he begged her.

"Why not Tony," she asked him, "It's true. I would be dead if not for her." There was a pause. "I owed Jenny my life and when she needed me I failed her," Ziva said in a quieter voice, "I could not save her."

Tony felt a chill pass over him. He knew what she was talking about. She was talking about that day back in May of 2008 when they had reached that diner just minutes to late to save Jenny. He had known that the memory of that day had haunted him for nearly two years but he had never known it haunter her. "She was dieing anyway," Tony reminded his partner, trying to return the comfort that she had given him so many times. "She died on her own terms."

"Just the way she would have wanted it," Ziva agreed, "but she never got a chance to say good-bye and neither did I."

Tony looked at his partner. She must be really tired he thought to himself, otherwise she would never have been letting her carefully built walls drop enough to reveal the vulnerable woman behind them. "I wish there was something I could say to make it better Ziva," he told her wrapping his arm around her shoulders and looking out the window with her.

"You do not need to," she told him, "this is not in anyway your fault."

"Yes it is," Tony said sadly, "If I had listened to you any of twelve times during the day Jenny would still be alive."

"It is not anyone's fault Tony," Ziva reminded him, "she made her own choices."

Tony glanced at her giving her a half smile. "If isn't anyone's fault then it can't be your fault either," he told her.

There was a minute or so of silence before Ziva spoke again. "You know there is a sad sort of message in the fact that he created rule twelve after Jenny left him in Paris as a way to keep others from getting hurt by loving their coworkers and yet he is a living reminder that you can not stop loving someone once you have loved them."

"Gibbs broke when Jenny died," Tony agreed, "I think that was the worst part of it all. Telling him that Jenny was gone."

It was Ziva's turn to reassure Tony with a squeeze to the shoulder. There was another silence before Ziva spoke. "It is sad that those two both lost part of themselves in this city and never had the courage to try and get it back," Ziva said looking out over the city, "This is supposed to be the city of love not pain and misery."

"If only things were the way they were supposed to be," Tony said quietly thinking not only of their bosses but them themselves. "So he made rule twelve after Paris?" he asked her.

"I assume so because Jenny knew almost all the rules and she said it was not there when he taught them to her but it clearly was soon after, " Ziva concluded. "I guess he wanted to protect us."

During the conversation they had both been looking out of the window and over the city but a slight tremble in Ziva's voice made him look at her. It was only then he realized that tears were glittering in her eyes. As he watched a single tear slipped its boundaries and fell down her face. Without thinking Tony reach out and wiping it away.

Ziva turned away. No one except Gibbs had ever seen her cry and she did not want Tony to think she was weak. She felt Tony's hand on her shoulder again and heard his worried voice, "hey Ziva. It's okay to cry. You know that right?"

She could not hold back the tear anymore. She had been holding them back for years and years because it was much easier to be strong when there was nobody there to make you feel loved. Tony did not wait for her to answer. He saw the tears spilling down her cheeks and pulled her into a hug and started running his fingers though her hair. He felt her body tremble in his arms and each time her heard he sob his heart broke for her.

The both slid down the wall and to the floor with Tony still holding Ziva close to him and whispering word of comfort in her ear. They just sat there, illuminated in the light from the window, until Ziva's sobs quieted and Tony realized she had cried herself to sleep. Gently he reached down and lifted her in his arms. Walking across the room he deposited her carefully on the bed and covered her in the blanket. Then he walked around to his side of the bed and climbed in.

Ziva surprised him by pulling herself a little closer to him. "Thank you for being there," she whispered before sliding back to sleep. He gently put his arms around her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "You don't need to thank me Ziva," he whispered to her, "I'll always be there for you."

_**Right o. How did you like it? I thought it was pretty decent. Please review and you might get more tomorrow. Smile.**_


	2. Waking up in Paris

_**Alright here is chapter two. I don't think it is as good as chapter one but I think it is still pretty good. Either way…Enjoy. By the way...I would have had this up yesterday afternoon but the site stopped letting me upload. Has that happened to anyone else? It still will not let me upload but I found a temporary way around that.  
Disclaimer: Does the answer ever change?  
Spoilers: Jet Lag, Judgment day, Kill Ari, Twilight, Silver War**_

Tony woke up that morning expecting the bed to be cold and empty as it had been every morning for a long time. However he knew after a moment that he was not alone. His partner was curled up next to him with her head resting firmly on his chest. His arms were still wrapped around her body, protecting and comforting her, as they had been the night before.

The memories of the last night came back to him at that moment. Usually returning memories brought pain and regret because of things he wished he had not done catching up to him. These memories were not unpleasant. They were painful but a different sort of pain. It was a pain for all the things that had hurt her and that he could not fix.

There was also still regret for not listening to her and ultimately costing Jenny her life. No matter how many times she told him that Jenny's death wasn't her fault he could not stop himself from thinking that it was. He would never fully forgive himself for Jenny's death because that was not the only price that had come with his mistake. If had just been Jenny's death he might of in time been able to forgive himself, but her death had almost destroyed the team and he could never forgive himself for that.

He hated that summer. He hated that summer more than almost any other. He hated it more than the summer after Kate died. He hated it more than the summer that Gibbs left them. He hated it because he had been separated from the people that he cared about most in the world. He hated it because he did not know if he would ever see any of them, most importantly Ziva, again. Most of all he hated that summer because he lived in constant fear that Ziva would die in the line of duty back in Israel and he would find out years later if at all.

There was only one summer in his entire life that he would classify as worse than that one, and it was the summer just past. That summer everyone had been together. Everyone had been safe. Everyone except Ziva. He knew that it was his fault that she had gone back to Israel. He had known that from the moment that she had left. If he had never shot Rivkin she would never have left and would never have been put in danger. The look she had worn while standing over him back in May was one that he would never forget as long as he lived.

Ziva woke up much later than she usually did. It was eight o'clock, which some might not have considered early, but Ziva, who got up at five o'clock everyday, certainly did. Ziva was about to move and get out of bed when she registered that she was not alone. Tony was right there next to her with his arms wrapped around her as they had been the night before. Speaking of last night…

Ziva's mind drifted back to the previous night or early that morning depending on how you wanted to look at it. Ziva remembered looking out at the city and feeling that she was completely alone in the world and Tony coming up behind to remind her that she was not. She had told Tony more about her past and emotions than she had ever told a single before and maybe more than she had told everyone else combined.

She had never really allowed anyone to get close to her. She had a million reasons for keeping her thoughts and feeling to herself. Last night she had been tired and being in Paris for the first time since that mission with Jenny was weakening her defenses. Now in the light of morning with a very good night's sleep behind her the reasons for shutting everyone out came back to her.

Even though she hated herself for doing it she pull herself out of Tony's arms and got out of bed. Tony looked at his partner. "Ziva," he said hesitantly. He had not expected for her to get out of bed with out at least saying good morning to him.

"Good Morning Tony," Ziva said curtly. She did not look at him and instead busied herself with getting out her clothing for the day. She knew that she could not look at him or she would lose the resolve she had. He held a power over her that no one else had ever held. That scared her…a lot.

"Ziva?" he repeated swinging his legs over the side of the bed. When she did not answered he start to get worried. "Ziva are you okay?"

"I am fine Tony," she answered biting her lip.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked her, "please tell me?"

"You did not do anything wrong," Ziva told him adding under her breath, "The fault was mine."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Tony said confused.

Ziva cursed silently. She had not meant for Tony to hear that but now he had she had to explain her. "Yes Tony, I should never have told you as much as I did last night."

Tony was stung by that. "Don't you trust me?" he asked her.

"Yes Tony I trust you with my life," she answered still not looking at him.

"Then shouldn't you know that I would never tell anyone your secrets?" Tony hated when Ziva got all cryptic and cold towards him. "Even if they threatened me," Tony added.

"I do not want it to get that far," Ziva whispered under her breath.

"Ziva, What is this about?" Tony asked her starting to get annoyed.

"This is about me and my past," Ziva told him, "it should not involve anyone else."

"Why can't involve anyone else," Tony asked her heatedly, "Gibbs, Abby, Ducky, Probie, and I all care about you and would die for you."

"That, Tony, is why it cannot involve you," Ziva's voice had risen a little, "because there are people out there who kill for it."

"Kill for what?" Tony asked confused.

"Kill for my secrets. Kill for information on where I am," Ziva listed, "I have very powerful enemies and secrets that…let us just say people have been killed for much less."

"It doesn't matter-" Tony started but Ziva cut him off.

"It matters, Tony. Do you not remember last summer? Anyone of you could have died and it would have been my fault. I have already been responsible for the death of one member of this team."

"Who?" Tony asked her.

"Kate," Ziva told him quietly, "I did not actually kill her but I as good killed her. All the information Ari used came from me. I have already cost the team one life. I cannot be the cause of another's death. I am not worth that."

Tony felt his anger fade quickly because it broke his heart that she thought that way about herself. "Ziva look at me," he requested. When she did not respond Tony put his fingers under her chin and lifted her head so his eyes met hers. "You are worth that. Tony told her firmly, "You are a member of the team too, and I don't mean just physically. You are connected to us because we all love you. We didn't come to Somalia because we needed to. We came because we had already lost two team members and were not going to sit by idly while we lost another. You are special Ziva."

" I do not think that anyone has ever told me that before," Ziva told him finally looking into his eyes voluntarily.

Tony looked at his partner for a long moment. He knew that she had had a troubled childhood. In fact troubled was probably and understatement. He knew nothing about her mother but knew that her father had been less than a warm and caring person towards his daughter. Ziva did not deserve that. She deserved the best in the world.

"Well someone should because it's true," he told her and without thinking he pulled her into a hug. She stiffened in his arms but after a moment she relaxed. After a moment he released her. "You can't get rid of me if you wanted to so don't try," he told her.

"Alright," she said seriously, "but I was not raised to be an open or honest person so it will take me time."

"However long you need," Tony assured her, "Just remember I will always be their for you."

"Thank you," Ziva told him because she knew he meant it, "Now I am going to get dressed." She grabbed her cloths and went into the bathroom. Closing the door behind her she looked out the window on the City of Love and thinking that if it was not for rule twelve she and Tony have something really great.

_**So what did you all think. By the way…I was totally blown away by the amount of reviews that this thing got. They made me so happy. Keep them coming! ;-) The other thing is there is a boy at my school who does not believe in Tiva so my friend and I are compiling a list. Any suggestions you have would be great.**_


	3. Rule Twelve

_**Chapter 3. As much as I would like for this to be the last chapter of this story and wrap it as a 3 chapter story I can't do that. I have long decide that I have not control left and the story is writing itself. There will be one more chapter after this, but it will be a little more Jibbs centered because…  
Spoilers: Jet Lag, Judgment Day, Grace Period, Twilight  
Disclaimer: It is not mine and never will be…sadly.**_

Ziva glanced at the clock that hung on the wall. It was late, almost midnight. She was curled up on her couch and had been reading the same sentence in her book for the past hour without taking in a single word of it. Her thoughts were of a place and time four thousand miles away and a day past.

Jenny had for a long time spoke of a Paris and Ziva had never understood how a city could be so special. After their mission in Paris, Ziva still had not understood the magic of the city. That mission had not been her first in Paris but it was the only one that had held any real meaning to her. However the only meaning it had was that it was the city where one more person she loved had left her.

Now she knew what Jenny had meant. She now understood the magic of the city and that one could only understand once they had been there with someone…someone they loved. There was no use denying it anymore. She was in love with Tony. She had been for years, but until now she had refused to admit it because there was nothing she could do about it.

She thought back to what Tony had said earlier. 'Bogy and Bergman will always have Paris. Now so will we.' Ziva sighed. It was true that Tony now had Paris to remember but what good did that do them? None at all because Gibbs still remembered his Paris… The Paris where his partner, the woman he loved more than anyone else except for Shannon, had left him broken and alone. In his attempt to protect them from pain he only really prevented them from having a chance at the happiness that he had known with Jenny.

Suddenly there was a knock at her door. Closing her book she got up to answer it, wondering who would be calling on her at midnight. Swinging the door open a little she saw Tony's familiar face standing outside the door. Opening the door the rest of the way she let Tony into her apartment. Neither one of them spoke because neither one knew what to say.

"You should be asleep," Tony told her lamely.

"And yet you knew I was not," Ziva said returning to her spot on the couch and allowing Tony to join her. "So why did you come by?"

"I wanted to show you this," he said pulling a picture out of an envelope and handing it to her.

Ziva looked down at the picture and realized that it was the picture he had taken of her in Paris. The only difference was that this one was in black and white. "Look on the back," Tony prompted her. Cautiously Ziva flipped over the picture. The back of the picture was covered with carefully written words. She recognized the writing as Tony's and slowly started to read it.

_Ziva,_

_If I am wrong you don't need to say anything about it again and if I am right then we can't, but here it goes. I felt something change between us in Paris. We formed a deeper bond then we had had before, and I finally admitted something to myself that I have known for a long time. I love you. There it is plain and simple. I fell in love with my partner. Whatever you do now does not change that._

_Love always,_

_Tony_

Ziva looked around at Tony. "Damn it, Tony," Ziva asked him quietly, "Why did she have to leave him? Why? We might really have a chance at something here but Gibbs says no. We could die everyday and yet we have to live like there always will be a tomorrow because he wants to protect us. I fell for my partner years ago and yet we are both still here trying to pretend that we do not love each other. Why?"

"Ziva, I don't know why Jenny left Gibbs, but you're right. We could die everyday and I am not going to let another day go by pretending that I don't love you because you are the most important person in my life," Tony told her.

"Do you really mean that?" she asked him slowly. She had known him to date dozens of women a year. She wanted something more from him something deeper and more committed.

"Yes, I mean it with my whole heart," Tony looked her in the eye as he said it, "I know that I have dated a lot of women, but Kate told me once that I would stop that once I found the right woman. She was right, Ziva. You are the only one I want."

Ziva sent a silent thanks to Kate's memory that she had known Tony enough to understand him and to tell him those words. "We need to talk to Gibbs," Ziva finally told him, "and he is not going to like it."

"He will get over it," Tony said a little more firmly than he felt. He had always looked up to Gibbs as a father and knew that Ziva had too but they were going to have this argument with him if they wanted a shot at being together.

"Are you sure that you want to do this now?" Ziva asked him. She did want him to rush into a fight with Gibbs without thinking about it because she knew how much he respected their boss.

"Ziva, one of us could die every time we walk through the elevator doors. Life is to short to tell someone you love them if you do," Tony quoted to her, "Those words are a combination of the words that two women that I cared about much said on the day that they died in the line of duty. Over the past five years I have seen three women I cared about killed. I don't hesitate anymore if I am certain of something, and I am certain that I love you."

Ziva looked her partner in the eyes and knew that he meant every word of his little speech. She didn't need to ask who the women were. He had quoted Kate and Paula. He had lost Kate, Paula, and Jenny. "I love you too, Tony," Ziva told him.

He hesitated for a fraction of a second before pulling Ziva into his arms and planting a kiss on her lips. She deepened the kiss until they broke apart for need of air. "Are you ready to talk to Gibbs?" he asked her.

"Yes," she replied, "Are you?" Tony just nodded in response and led her towards the door.

--- --- ---

Gibbs was working on sanding the side of his latest project when he heard footsteps. He knew that there was only one pair of people who would be calling on him this late and he sighed. His suspicions proved correct as Tony and Ziva descended the stairs into his basement.

"Boss," Tony said a little awkwardly.

"Yea DiNozzo?" Gibbs replied not looking up from his boat.

"Ziva and I want to talk to about something," Tony told his boss.

"Alright," Gibbs said brushing his hands against his pants to get the sawdust off.

Tony and Ziva looked at each other. Neither one of them quite knew how to phrase their next sentence. Finally Tony decided to go for the blunt method and said, "we are going to brake one of your rules."

"Which one, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked even though he knew very well which rule they were going to break.

"Rule twelve," Tony told him.

"That rule exists for a reason," Gibbs reminded them.

"We know it does," Ziva told him, "they all do. We have done our best to follow them but we are not here asking for you permission. We are her asking for your blessing because we both care very much about what you think."

"Does this have anything to do with your trip to Paris?" Gibbs asked them.

"Yea it does a little bit," Tony said, "but that was only the catalyst for something that had been brewing for years."

Gibbs glared at them, "Give it time."

"You know what no," Tony told him, "we have spent four years pretending that we don't love each other. I'm not sure how much time we have on this job until one of us is killed again: Kate five years ago, Paula three years ago, and Jenny two years ago. How much time until one of us is killed again?"

"Gibbs I know you loved Jenny and I know that she hurt you but I also know that, if you had made an effort when she was director, she would have dated you again because she loved you and regretted leaving," Ziva told him.

"It isn't good for to partners to be lovers," Gibbs stated, "I assume you know what happened in the Paris mission."

"You verified Jenny's kill even though you knew she hadn't and the mark came back and killed Jenny nine years later," Ziva said once again remembering finding Jenny's body. "Okay then here," Ziva said taking off her badge and gun, "we are no longer partners."

Tony grabbed Ziva's wrist before she could hand her badge and gun over. "Ziva if you resign then you have to go back to Israel," Tony reminded her.

"It is the only way," Ziva told him firmly.

"No it's not," Tony said slowly taking off his badge and gun.

"You love this job Tony," Ziva said amazed.

"I love you more," Tony told her kissing her cheek.

"Alright," Gibbs sighed, "Neither one of you are resigning. If you keep it out of the office I don't care, but DiNozzo?"

"Yes boss," Tony replied,

"You have something great," Gibbs told him, "Don't screw it up."

"I won't boss," Tony said looking at Ziva, "I promise."

Ziva walked forward and pulled Gibbs into a hug that he returned. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear, "Thank you."

_**I actually really like this chapter but tell me what you think. Please review and I will try to get the next chapter up ASAP. By the way the sequel to 1 Part Vinegar, 2 Parts Olive Oil, 1 half tsp Salt will be posted on Friday, which is also my birthday. So if any of you are interested. **_


	4. Paris Never Really Ended

_**Alright here is the final chapter. Chapter 4. This story has had a nice little run for a story I wrote the first chapter of on a whim after the episode. By the way you have been warned that this chapter is Jibbs centric. There are plenty of mentions of Tiva but the Paris in the episode deserved a Jibbs focused chapter.**_

_**Disclaimer: If it was do you think Jenny would be gone?**_

_**Spoiler: Twilight, Judgment Day, Season four, Season three…Everything is fair game**_

Gibbs waited until his two agents were out of his basement and he heard upstairs door close behind them. Then he began to sand his boat again. It was slow methodical word and left his brain a little too much time to contemplate what had just happened.

He felt a little like two of his children had grown up to where they did not need him anymore. He had thought of the team as children for several years. Kate, like Kelly, had been killed. Abby and McGee were growing everyday and now Tony and Ziva were all grown up.

Tony had changed over the past few years. He had changed a lot. The years he spent with Kate he had been juvenile and disregarding of personal space. Then Kate had died and he had become just a little bit more serious. During the first year Ziva was there he was still light and joking about many things. The second year, he was involved with the frog's daughter, and that had made him more caring and considerate in the end, but he had not been there to see the hurt look in Ziva's eyes every time he was with Jeanne. Within that year was also Paula's death, which affected Tony in the same way Kate's had. The following year was not bad. Not until the end. Not until Jenny's death.

Gibbs shook his head. He was not going to think about that right now. Then after that there was the summer apart and that had been hard on all of them. The following year had been better. The team continued to grow closer to each other. The beginning of the end for those happy months was the trip to LA not because of what happened their but because of what happened on the home front with Ziva and Rivkin. Then there had been the summer. The summer had changed Tony more than anything Gibbs had seen. Tony was willing to risk his life and his job to save Ziva. He was willing to give everything for her. In the past year Tony and the team had had their ups and downs but through it all Tony was strong and very protective of Ziva.

Ziva. She had changed too. She had come five years ago as an assassin. The years had changed her and softened her. Well not softened her quiet as much as they had shown her that it is okay to be human. During the year Tony was with Jeanne she tried to hide the hurt and did a pretty good job of it but Gibbs had seen in her eye just how much Tony had hurt her. Then Ziva had been hurt in the whole serial killer fiasco. That followed by Jenny's death.

Gibbs shook his head again. He would get there just not quiet yet. The summer apart had gotten Ziva blown up. Then getting them back together had showed just how much NCIS had changed her because when she left she finally admitted to herself that it had so she let others see it. That year had for her also been good until the very end. Rivkin and Tony had hit her deep and so she left to sort it out and found herself in more trouble than she could get out of on her own. She had thought she would die there, but she did not because of Tony. That year back had been good and she had her ups and downs with the rest of them but she had come out on top.

What Tony had said was true. They had loved each other for a long time. There love had grown with them and Gibbs was sure that it and they could survive the years. He had held out for a long time because they needed to find their own way in the world. Now he knew that they had proved it to themselves as well as him. The other reason was beautiful, redheaded, and gone forever. Jenny.

Jenny was the reason that he had never wanted there to be romance between agents. Jenny had said she loved him. Jenny had left him. Jenny had come to work beside him. Jenny had tried to make amends. Jenny had died before he could get rid of his pride at tell her that he still loved her. Jenny was one of two women for whom his love had never ended and never would.

He loved her. It had undermined the Paris mission, and in the end it had cost Jenny her life. Ducky told him that she was dieing but that did not make a difference in Gibbs eyes. All he could see was that his actions had gotten her killed. He did not want his agents to get hurt like he had been or die as Jenny had.

Gibbs remembered with as sharply as it was yesterday the moment he found out that Jenny was lost to him forever.

FLASHBACK—May 20th 2008

Gibbs listened as Jenny's phone rang. Finally on the next to last ring someone picked up, but no one answered. Now he was a little worried. "Jenny, Jenny, Are you there?" he asked needing her to answer.

"Boss," Tony's voice answered. It sounded hallow.

"DiNozzo, Why do you have the directors phone?" Gibbs asked now really worried.

"I…she…" Tony s voice faltered, "She's gone Gibbs."

Gibbs felt his chest constrict. "Meaning you don't know where she is," he hoped.

"No," Tony said sadly, "Meaning that she is dead."

"Alright DiNozzo," Gibbs said keeping his voice calm for his agent's sake, "Stay where you are. I'm flying out there."

"Okay Boss," Tony said before hanging up.

Gibbs heard the line go dead, but he did not move. He would not believe that Jenny was gone forever. She could not be dead. He still needed her.

END FLASHBACK

Gibbs sighed. He had not been there to protect Shannon and he had not been there to protect Jenny. He had failed both of them, but somehow he knew that Tony would not fail Ziva. Actually, this past summer Tony had proved that he would go to any lengths to protect Ziva.

He had loved Jenny when they were together. He had loved Jenny for the six years they were apart. He had loved her when the worked together. He still loved her. He always would.

And that was, in the end, the reason that he gave Tony and Ziva his blessing. He knew first had that even if you pretended that you stopped loving someone that you could never really do it if you had really done it.

So in the end the reason for him giving for permission and the reason for him making rule twelve was one in the same. It was because technically Paris had ended but in reality it never would. True love is forever…

_**So how did you like it? I liked the ending. Please Review (it is my birthday think of it as giving me a really cool present). Thank you to all of those who read this story.**_

_**Peace Hugs NCIS**_

_**Paris Never Ended!**_


End file.
